Abstract
Starting from crystalline silicon we synthesised bright suspensions of amorphous porous silicon nanoparticles through unconventional stain etching. Upon excitation with UV light, this novel nanostructured material gives rise to an intense red photoluminescence (PL) which resembles that of some silicon nanostructures. We studied the properties of the prepared nanoparticles using a number of cutting-edge characterization techniques such as TEM, SEM and EDX. The complete crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition, confirmed by the morphological studies, seems fortuitous.